Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings Signed and dated (upper right): Renoir 88.
Gallery Label Hoping to recapture the success he had achieved with "Madame Georges Charpentier and Her Children" (on view in an adjacent gallery) at the Salon of 1879, Renoir asked his friend Catulle Mendès for permission to paint his three daughters. Mendès was a well-known writer and publisher of Symbolist poetry; his companion, Augusta Holmès, a virtuoso pianist and composer, was the mother of these girls.
Provenance father of the sitters, Abraham-Catulle Mendès (called Catulle Mendès), Paris (from 1888; commissioned from the artist for Fr 500); [Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, until 1905; sold to Berthier]; Louis-Alexandre Berthier, prince de Wagram, Paris (1905–d.1918); his sister, Elisabeth Marguerite, princesse de la Tour d'Auvergne-Lauraguais, Paris (1918–29; sold to Knoedler); [Knoedler, New York, in shares with The LefevreGallery (Alex. Reid & Lefevre), London, 1929; sold to Rothschild]; baron Maurice de Rothschild, Paris (1929–30; sold to Wildenstein); [Wildenstein, Paris and New York, in shares with Paul Rosenberg, Paris and New York, 1930–54; sold by Wildenstein on December 30 to Simon]; Mr. S. Simon, New York (1954–64; sold in January 1964 Wildenstein); [Wildenstein, New York, 1964–66; sold May 16 to Annenberg]; Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg, Rancho Mirage, Calif. (1966–98; jointly with MMA, 1998–his d. 2002; his bequest to MMA)
Exhibition History Paris. Durand-Ruel. "Exposition Brown, Boudin, Caillebotte, Lépine, Morisot, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, Whistler," May 25–June 25, 1888, no. 23 (as "Portaits de Mlles C. M.").
Paris. Salon. May 1, 1890–?, no. 2024 (as "Portraits de Mlles M . . . ").
Paris. Musée de l'Orangerie. "Exposition Renoir, 1841–1919," 1933, no. 85 (as "Les filles de Catulle Mendès au piano," lent by Wildenstein, Paris).
Pennsylvania Museum of Art. "Manet and Renoir," November 29, 1933–January 1, 1934, no catalogue (as "Les enfants du Catulle Mendès," lent by Wildenstein, New York) [see "The Pennsylvania Museum Bulletin," December 1933, p. 20].
Toledo Museum of Art. "French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists," November 1934, no. 18 (as "The Children of Mme. Augusta Holmes at the Piano," lent by Wildenstein, New York).
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Independent Painters of Nineteenth Century Paris," March 15–April 28, 1935, no. 46 (as "Les filles de Catulle Mendés [sic], lent by Wildenstein, New York).
New York. Wildenstein & Co., Inc.. "Great Portraits from Impressionism to Modernism," March 1–29, 1938, no. 38 (as "The Children of Catulle Mendès," lent by Wildenstein).
Amsterdam. Stedelijk Museum. "Honderd Jaar Fransche Kunst," July 2–September 25, 1938, no. 217 (as "Les filles de Catulle Mendès au piano ["De dochterjes van Catulle Mendès aan de piano"], lent by Wildenstein, Paris).
New York. Wildenstein & Co., Inc.. "The Great Tradition of French Painting," June–October 1939, no. 37 (as "The Children of Catulle-Mendes [sic]").
New York. Duveen Galleries. "Renoir, Centennial Loan Exhibition, 1841-1941," November 8–December 6, 1941, no. 59 (as "Les enfants de Catulle-Mendès (sic) [The Children of Catulle-Mendès (sic)]"].
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Art in Progress," 1944, unnumbered cat. (ill. p. 22, as "The Children of Catulle-Mendès [sic]," lent by Wildenstein).
San Francisco. California Palace of the Legion of Honor. "Paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir," November 1–30, 1944, unnumbered cat. (as "The Children of Catulle Mendes [sic]," lent by WIldenstein [no. 32/Ref. Bailey 1991]).
New Orleans. Isaac Delgado Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of French Painting through Five Centuries, 1400–1900," October 17, 1953–January 10, 1954, no. 77 (as "The Children of Catulle-Mendés [sic], lent by Wildenstein).
Paris. Galerie Beaux-Arts. "Chefs-d'œuvre de Renoir," July 10–27, 1954, no. 36 (as "Les filles de Catulle-Mendès au piano" [sic]).
Fort Worth Art Center. "Inaugural Exhibition," October 8–31, 1954, no. 83 (lent by Wildenstein).
New York. Wildenstein & Co., Inc.. "Renoir," April 8–May 10, 1958, no. 49 (as "The Children of Catulle Mendès," lent by Mr. S. Simon).
Lausanne. Palais de Beaulieu. "Chefs-d'œuvre des collections suisses de Manet à Picasso," May 1–October 25, 1964, no. 351.
New York. Wildenstein. "Renoir: In Commemoration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Renoir's Death," March 27–May 3, 1969, no. 95 (as "The Children of Catulle Mendès," lent by Ambassador and Mrs. Walter H. Annenberg).
London. Tate Gallery. "The Annenberg Collection," September 2–October 8, 1969, no. 28 (as "The Children of Catulle Mendes").
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Impressionism & Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection," May 21–September 17, 1989, unnumbered cat. (as "The Daughters of Catulle Mendès").
Washington. National Gallery of Art. "Masterpieces of Impressionism & Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection," May 6–August 5, 1990, unnumbered cat.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Impressionism & Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection," August 16–November 11, 1990, unnumbered cat.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Impressionism & Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection," June 4–October 13, 1991, unnumbered cat.
References Félix Fénéon. La Cravache . Paris, June 2, 1888 [reprinted in "Oeuvres," Gallimard, Paris, (1948), p. 138].Letter to Mendès . November 27, 1888 [translated by and reprinted in Ref. White 1984, p. 184, note 107].Letter to Mendès . April 1888 [translated by and reprinted in Colin B. Bailey, "Masters of Impressionisn and Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection," Philadelphia, 1991, pp. 44, 157 n. 4, p. 158, fig. 66].Exposition A. Renoir . Exh. cat., Durand-Ruel. Paris, 1892, p. 30.La vie artistique: Salons de 1890 et de 1891, etc. Paris, 1892, pp. 161–63.La Liberté 10 (October 15, 1904), unpaginated [English translation published in Barbara Ehrlich White, ed., "Impressionism in Perspective," Englewood Cliffs, 1978, p. 22 and in "Renoir, A Retrospective"].Histoire des peintres impressionistes . Paris, 1906, p. 148.Auguste Renoir . Munich, 1911, pp. 58, 146–48, 150, 160, ill. [French ed., 1912, pp. 54, 140, 142–43, 145, 156, ill.].The Master Impressionists . Chicago, 1913, p. 148.Tableaux, pastels & dessins de Pierre-Auguste Renoir . Paris, 1918, vol. 1, p. 89, no. 353, ill.Renoir, An Intimate Record . New York, 1925, p. 242.French Painting . Boston, 1931, p. 264.Art News 32 (December 16, 1933), pp. 10–11, ill.Exposition Renoir, 1841–1919 . Exh. cat., Musée de l'Orangerie. Paris, 1933, p. 38, no. 85.Exposition Renoir, 1841–1919; Album de soixante-quatre reproductions . [Paris], 1933, unpaginated, no. 85, pl. XLVIII.The Art of Renoir . New York, 1935, pp. 103–4, 414–15, 458, no. 167.Art News (December 25, 1937), pp. 10–11, ill.Renoir . Paris, 1937, pp. 45–46, 88.Connoisseur 101 (April 1938), p. 205, ill.Great Portraits from Impressionism to Modernism . Exh. cat., Wildenstein, New York. New York, 1938, p. 35, no. 38.The Great Tradition of French Painting . Exh. cat., Wildenstein & Co., Inc. New York, 1939, pp. 16, 36, ill.Renoir, Centennial Loan Exhibition, 1841–1941 . Exh. cat., Duveen Galleries. New York, 1941, pp. 81, 148, 153–54, ill.Renoir . Paris, 1944, pp. 79, 203, no. 95, ill.Renoir . Lausanne, 1949, p. 25, pl. 35.The Annenberg Collection . Exh. cat., Tate Gallery. London, 1969, unpaginated, ill. (color).L'Oeil 179 (November 1969), pp. 24, 26, fig. 10.Auguste Renoir: Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint . 1, Lausanne, 1971, unpaginated, no. 545, ill.L'opera completa di Renoir . repr., 1981. Milan, 1972, p. 118, no. 634, ill.Renoir . Garden City, N.Y., 1973, pp. 50–51, 54, fig. 1 (detail in color).Renoir: His Life, Art, and Letters . New York, 1984, pp. 178, 182, 184, ill. (color).in Renoir . Exh. cat., Hayward Gallery. [London], 1985, p. 26.Renoir . revised ed. (1st ed., 1954). New York, 1985, pp. 80–81, ill.in Masterpieces of Impressionism & Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection . Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 1991, pp. ix, 44–47, 156–57, ill. (color and b&w) [1st edition has different page numbers].Beaux arts no. 92 (July–August 1991), pp. 66, 69, ill. (color).Hidden Treasures Revealed: Impressionist Masterpieces and Other Important French Paintings Preserved by the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg . Exh. cat.New York, 1995, p. 112.in Colin B. Bailey. Renoir's Portraits: Impressions of an Age . Exh. cat., National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. New Haven, 1997, pp. 5–7, 16, 18–19, 20, 45 n. 38, 59, p. 210, fig. 8 (color).Art News 97 (May 1998), pp. 147, 149, ill. p. 145 (color, installation photo).Christie's Impressionist & Nineteenth Century Art . Christie's, New York. May 12, 1999, p. 50, fig. 1 (color).in "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 1998–1999." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 57 (Fall 1999), pp. 5, 47, ill. (color).Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 61 (Fall 2003), pp. 34–35, ill. (color).in Masterpieces of European Painting, 1800–1920, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art . New York, 2007, pp. 157, 299–300, no. 146, ill. (color and bw).
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